2026 / San Francisco Symphony: luces para el camino / lights for the path
The glow of fireflies symbolizes the light of those who illuminated our lives. On Día de los Muertos, they return to be with us for one more precious moment.
This altar honors my parents, teachers, mentors, and all those whose light continues to inspire my creativity, even beyond death.
Luis Arias, María López, Anna Halprin, René Yañez, Yolanda López, Frida Kahlo, Chavela Vargas, Julio Cortázar, Pablo Neruda, Remedios Varo, Leonora Carrington, Salvador Dalí, and Federico García Lorca.
Their light lives on in us, guiding our dreams, our memories, and everything we create.
2026 / Tenderloin and Marigold Project
As part of the Día de los Muertos celebrations, I created a community mural on canvas, painted live by visitors who participated in the Tenderloin celebration between 2 and 7 PM.
I also created a live painting at Potrero del Sol Park, inspired by the music, altars, and spirit of the celebration organized by the Marigold Project.
2026 / Forever Madres e Hijas / with the collaboration of Lindsey Crawford at SOMArts
A suspended memorial installation for Día de los Muertos honoring women who were unjustly imprisoned and killed by law enforcement authorities, celebrating their memory, resistance, and dignity across borders, bodies, and generations.
2025 / Altar for MAestro Rene Yañez at SOMArts, in collaboration with Reneé Baldocchi
2025 / The Journey of the Little Angels among Corn and Stars at SF Symphony
dedicated to the angelitos—the souls of children who, according to Mexica tradition, embark on a sacred journey to a radiant paradise. Inspired by the pre-Hispanic celebration of Miccailhuitontli, this space honors the belief that their spirits gather beneath a mystical tree, where laughter mingles with the whisper of cornfields and the hum of life.
(model)
2025 / Goddess of Trans Migration by Anais Azul & Adrián Arias, collaborators, at SOMARts
This installation honors a non-binary, trans goddess — a figure of resistance, identity, and transformation. Their face, marked with ancestral symbols, speaks of migration, healing, and strength. Their steady gaze affirms existence with quiet power.
2024 / Mixed-Media Altars at the California Museum, Sacramento
Altars dedicated to my teachers, mentors, and friends René Yañez and Yolanda López, two key figures in Chicano art in the United States.
2024 /Altar for MAestro Rene Yañez at SOMArts, in collaboration with Reneé Baldocchi
2023 / Altar at SOMArts dedicated to the memory of Harry Belafonte, legendary singer, artist, and civil rights activist.
2022 / Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, San Francisco, Dedicated to the 19 children killed in Uvalde, Texas
For the children of Uvalde
Nineteen children,
nineteen dreams,
nineteen futures
silenced by a gun.I was a teacher then.
My students were their age.
Our grief became art.With yellow papel picado,
the color of our ancestors,
I opened small windows
for the wind to carry their spirits
to the other side.And here we remain,
in a world of millions of guns,
asking how many more children
must die before we change.Let our hands create,
not destroy.
Let the wind carry their names,
and let us protect life.
2022 / “You don’t kill the truth by killing journalists”
Dedicated to the memory of journalists Francisca Sandoval and Shireen Abu Akleh, SOMArts Dia de los Muertos
2022 /At the San Francisco Symphony: El venado azul / The Blue Deer / Kauyumari
In this pyramid we see three sides that explain part of the Huichol symbology. The Blue Deer is the most important being in Huichol mythology, because it is considered the creator of the world, assistant to the fire grandfather (Tatewari) and later creator of peyote and corn. In addition, the Blue Deer gives us access to the world of the invisible, from where the wounds of the soul are healed.
2022 /Fire Hummingbird at Potrero del Sol, Marigold Project Day of the Dead, curated by Rosa de Anda
Fire Hummingbird celebrates fire as a force of life, destruction, and transformation. Dedicated to young lives lost to violence, accidents, mistreatment, and the pandemic, the sculpture honors the hummingbird as a messenger connecting us with our ancestors. Featuring original music by Anaís Azul, it was exhibited at the Exploratorium in San Francisco from November 10 to December 4, 2022.
2022 / Water Altar -also dedicated to the 19 children of Uvalde, Texas
At the FLACC festival: Sii Agua SI, Dolores Park, San Francisco
2021 MCCLA Galleries and Lobby: Dedicated to my dear friends and mentors: Yolanda Lopez, Anna Halprin and Jack Hirschman.
Above: An altar honoring Yolanda López, my beloved teacher and mentor, who always offered me her wisdom, the most generous advice, and the encouragement to keep creating art. The altar holds some of her personal belongings and art materials, carrying traces of her extraordinary spirit and legacy.
Below: An altar honoring Anna Halprin, my beloved mentor and teacher of dance and movement, who constantly inspired me to push beyond the boundaries of my creativity, explore new artistic languages, and discover new sources of creative energy and expression.
KQED NPR media HERE
Above: An altar honoring my dear friend, teacher, and mentor, Jack Hirschman, the poet with the red scarf. Thanks to my mother, who knew him, I gave my very first poetry reading in San Francisco alongside Jack. His words, passion, and revolutionary spirit remain an endless source of poetic inspiration.
Below: An altar honoring one of my favorite artists, whose work continues to inspire my own artistic journey. This altar-painting was created in collaboration with Cece Carpio, a wonderful artist and collaborator whose work I deeply admire and for whom I have great affection.
2021 SOMARTS: Dedicated to 5 Latinx killed by police in the US and Mexico
– Mario González, 26, killed by suffocation, Alameda, 04/19/2021.
– Victoria Salazar, 26, killed by suffocation, Tulum, Mexico, 03/27/2021.
– Sean Monterrosa, 22, killed by 5 shots, Vallejo, 06/04/2020.
– Angel Zapata H., 24, killed by suffocation, San Diego, 10/15/2019.
– Claudia Patricia Gómez, 20, killed by a shot in the head, Rio Bravo, Texas, 05/03/2018.
KQED NPR media HERE
2020 SOMARTS: Dedicated to George Floyd
This altar honors George Floyd, his life, and the profound impact of his death on the world. In the midst of the pandemic, his death became a powerful awakening, igniting a global movement of protest, solidarity, and a renewed struggle for our rights, freedom, and human dignity.
2019 San Francisco Symphony: Dedicated to Joao Gilberto
2018 SOMARTS: Dedicated to Rene Yañez, teacher, mentor and friend. He was the Chicano artist who brought Dia de los Muertos to San Francisco more than 40 years ago, and who was always willing to help emerging artists, creating opportunities in the Arts. Altar in collaboration with Mara Hernandez
2017 MCCLA: My heroes of the Mission district in San Francisco. Commissioned and exhibited at SF Cultural Mission Center
Here a link to see the video created by the Multimedia dpt. MCCLA
2016 SOMARTS: Altar for my father (1932-2016). Commissioned and exhibited at SOMARTS, San Francisco
Adrian inside the room-altar-installation for his father, the visual artist Luis Arias Vera
2015 San Francisco Symphony: Commissioned and exhibited at the San Francisco Symphony, dedicated to writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez
2013 / Altar dedicated to Tryvon Martin
Unjustly killed simply for appearing suspicious.
2012 OMCA: Commissioned and exhibited at the Oakland Museum of California OMCA, dedicated to the conscientious objector and actor Lew Ayres
2012 San Francisco Symphony: Commissioned and exhibited at the San Francisco Symphony, dedicated to musician Aaron Copland. Piece in collaboration with Anais Azul
2003 and 2004 @ SOMARTS:
Border at SOMARTS was an altar in collaboration with Begoña Caparrós